Changing Up the Routine

So, over the past few months, I have felt like my body has stopped responding the way it has in the past to my daily 6-mile runs and mostly healthy eating {with the exception of that killer sweet tooth}.  I think it's time to trick my body, whether it's by doing more intervals at the gym {which will not only fool my metabolism but will also make me a better runner}, lifting more weights {the worst, but a necessary evil}, and trying desperately to cut down on my sugar intake.

I have been gradually adding intervals in to my workout over the past month or so, and let me tell you, those workouts are exhausting! I did a 6-mile interval run this morning where I kicked up the pace every mile for 1/4-mile, and it felt REALLY good.  Next, I know I need to start adding in more cross-training, both to avoid all of my pesky running injuries and, again, trick my body, while also adding strength.  I have been pinning easy at-home workouts on Pinterest, so now it's about consolidating all of them.  I'm thinking that, on my off-days from running {maybe 2x/week?}, I would like to do some combination of: rowing {well, using the erg in our gym}, sprints outside, spin bike, and lifting with light free weights.  Hopefully, this change in routine will be something that my body responds to.

On the food side, I have decided {so now you all have to hold me to this} to give up sweets after Valentine's Day and until the end of Lent, so we're talking slightly more than two months without the hard stuff.  I think this will be a necessary way to cleanse my body, especially as I'm heading into a race season.  Another goal of mine has been to take my time when I eat.  I know that I will get full faster if I take my time and chew my food, perhaps pausing for a few more sips of water throughout the meal.  It isn't a race to see who can finish!  Lastly, I noticed a few weeks ago that my fridge was depressingly devoid of fruits and veggies for snacking {which only makes me reach for baked goods more when I want a snack}.  I have been stocking up on those things so that, when I am snacking during the day, it's at least healthy snacking.

I was also just reading a great Cup of Jo post where she linked a Michael Pollan video.  He is essentially arguing that you can eat the things you like, as long as they're homemade, rather than made by a corporation.  I would love to hear what all of you think about that statement, because I'm on the fence about it.  On the one hand, I absolutely agree that it is better to eat home-cooked food than restaurant- or corporation-processed foods, but, as my baking habit proves, I am still getting the bad stuff, even though I am making it myself {however much I do sub in better-for-me ingredients}.

We'll see how this little experiment goes! I promise to post about the weekend soon!

Start Your Engines...

After having worked myself into the ground for our event last weekend, I was very much in need of a relaxing weekend, and I was luckily able to take a day off on Friday, which was definitely much-needed.  Of course, that didn't stop me from waking up at 5:45, when Dan woke up to run, so that I could go for a run myself!  Come on, what did you expect?!  I then went over to my parents' house and went for a long walk with my mom in the oppressive heat (it was in the upper 90s at 8:30 in the morning. Yikes!), after which we went over to my place and she lent her unexpected baking expertise as I cooked dinner for Dan and myself for that night.  As I mentioned in a post last week, Dan had beaten me at mini-golf when we went to the beach, and, since we had had dinner riding on it, we used my day off as an excuse for him to claim his prize (because I actually had time to slave away in the kitchen for several hours).  All I have to say is, thank GOD my mom was there!! She has baked probably a dozen times in my entire life, but she actually had an incredible amount of baking expertise for someone who does not typically bake (I was making buttercream frosting, which proved to be rather challenging).

I decided to bust out the cookbook that Dan had gotten me for my birthday (I thought that there would be no better occasion than date night to use it) and made an Apple Spice Cake with Brown Sugar Buttercream Frosting.  I probably should have consulted the instructions before I started making it, because it was actually way more involved than I had planned on, but I think it was worth it!  The buttercream frosting didn't quite have the same texture of any of the other types of buttercream frosting that I've tried, but it still tasted good, and the cake itself was delicious!!!  At Dan's request, I also made vegetarian chili and cornbread, which both turned out to be really good!  Add to that a nice bottle of wine and we had ourselves a nice little romantic evening.  It was interrupted somewhat by a torrential downpour/thunderstorm (we actually were thinking that, coupled with the gale-force winds, it seemed more like a hurricane), but we got up for a few minutes, marveled at the storm, and then got back to watching our movie.

One thing that I learned during my cooking escapades on Friday is that I would not make a very good housewife haha (Dan laughed at me when I confessed that to him). I enjoy cooking from a detailed recipe every once in a while, but I have no interest in spending multiple hours a day cooking (notice, though, that I have no problem spending two or two-and-a-half hours baking cookie dough cupcakes).  I acknowledge that there is a high degree of satisfaction when the person you cook for loves what you make (as was the case on Friday night), and Dan was not only openly very appreciative but also did a good deal of the cleanup, which was much appreciated, but I don't know if I could do that on a regular basis.  My poor children will probably be raised on takeout pizza...no, I'm sure that, at some point in my life, I will learn to cook on a more regular basis, but for now, it's nice to be able to hit the Whole Foods hot bar, make ourselves some boxed mac & cheese, or go out to dinner.

On Saturday morning, we went for a nice six-mile run in the blistering heat, and, as usual, I thought I was going to die on the Mass Ave hill haha.  After Dan left to hit the links, I did some baking (cookie dough cupcakes) for our summer intern who is starting in the office today and who I will be managing (he seems like a really nice kid, so hopefully this will work out just great!).  After having a chill afternoon, I met up with two friends, Jamie and Jen, for the evening.  We sat in Jamie's apartment, chatting away, until Jamie realized that it was 9pm and none of us had eaten.  So we grabbed a bite at Commissary and continued our conversation.  A great, and much-needed, girls' night with two lovely ladies!  I also learned how little I know about Obamacare (both Jamie and Jen have worked, or currently work in, healtcare-type jobs, so naturally, Obamacare, and the looming Supreme Court decision, were a major part of our discussion).

On Sunday morning, I went for a run and then met up with Dan for Mass in Georgetown followed by, you guessed it, Tombs brunch.  Delicious, as usual.  Then, after braving the still-extreme heat in the walk to his apartment (seriously, we just had to sit in the air conditioning for a few minutes once we got there), we hung out at the pool for a few hours and then watched some soccer until it was an acceptable hour to go and grab dinner.  We ended up going to an Italian place in Clarendon that we had been to a few times, but, when we got there, we were reminded of the fact that the service is terrible, however decent the food might be.  So we resolved never to return.  It was a perfect and relaxing Sunday with my guy, and I remarked to him on the drive home that we had had a really nice weekend, between our date night and our nice run and our lazy Sunday spent together.  In July, we have so many exciting things going on, so we have a lot to look forward to!!  And this week, his parents, who I absolutely adore, are in town, so I'm psyched to see them!